Katra, SMVDU: On the Occasion of the first “Fascination of Plants Day” being celebrated internationally under the umbrella of European Plant Science Organization (EPSO), School of Innovation and Community Development (SICD), SMVDU; organized an interactive awareness session on May 18, 2012. The Fascination of Plants Day has been adopted by 39 countries, 29 from Europe and 10 from North- and South America, Asia, Australasia and Africa. More than 580 institutions - ranging from botanical gardens to plant research centers - are hosting different kinds of public and media events which are all closely related to basic plant science, agricultural research, environmental conservation, biodiversity, education and arts. The goal of this activity is to get as many people as possible round the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for agriculture, in sustainably producing food, as well as for horticulture, forestry and all other non food products.

On the occasion, lectures were delivered by faculty and plant scientists from various Institutions in and around Jammu: namely by Dr. Gandhi Ram and Dr. Suphla Gupta from IIIM Jammu; Prof. D. P. Abrol, SKUAST, Jammu; Dr. Aftab Mir, State NMPB Jammu; and in-house faculty members Prof. V. Verma, Dr. Sharada Potukuchi and Dr. Samantha Vaishnavi.

A total of 100 participants interacted with the distinguished faculty to further the cause of plants and plant science research. Teachers and students from DPS, Katra, Govt. Higher Secondary School, Panthal and Faculty, Staff and Research Scholars from SMVDU participated in the event and were appreciative of the efforts made by the organizers in igniting interest in the young and impressionable minds who can be motivated to take up plant science research as a career. The event was organized under the initiative of Prof. R. N. K. Bamezai, Vice Chancellor, SMVDU by Dr. Sunil Wanchoo, Director SICD, Dr. V. K. Tripathi, Coordinator NSS and Dr. Sharada Potukuchi, Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology.

The College of Management, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University organised an interactive session with officials of Reserve Bank of India, Jammu on 27th April, 2012. The session was graced by Mr. John V. Guria – Research Officer, Department of Economic and Policy Research - RBI, Mr. R.K. Meena, Assistant General Manager – RBI and other two associates. Mr. John Guria briefed regarding the monetary policy for the year 2012-13 and other aspects of Indian economy. The session was focussed on operating procedure of monetary policy in India which includes introduction to monetary policy tools, transmission channels and new operating procedure of monetary policy, etc. The session also includes information about the performance of different industries for past five years alongwith the measures to be adopted for restoring and increasing the investment in various industries. This was followed by discussion between the officials and students of MBA and MBA (BE) where students cleared their doubts regarding facets of monetary policy. Discussion comprises of issues related with cash reserve ratio determination its role in maintaining investment level in India, action taken to encounter the deprecation in value of rupee and how the central banking institution quantitatively determine repo rate and reverse repo rate. The best participants were rewarded by the officials of the central bank of India. The students who received rewards include Izaz ul Islam, Vaseem Hassan Raja, Sidharath Sarvesh, Ashish Dharmat and Akash Mahajan. Finally, the faculty member of College of Management presented vote of thanks to the officials of RBI.

National Level Management Fest, Tatva’12, organized by College of Management, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra concluded on 13th April, 2012 amid great enthusiasm and fun. Mr. Annil Suri, Chairman, Federation of Industries, Jammu graced the valedictory function as Chief Guest and called upon the budding managers to do well for their motherland. Recalling the old memories, Mr. Jatin Sachdeva, General Manager, Shalimar Cattle Feeds, who was the guest of honor in the event, congratulated the students for the successful completion of the programme. Dr. Vipan Kakkar, Dean of Students, SMVDU, was enthralled with the vigour and enthusiasm shown by the students throughout the event. Prof. D. Mukhopadhyay, Dean College of Management, inspired the students for continuing the legacy with the same zeal in upcoming challenges.

During the Fest, about 100 participants contributed to the success of events like Jingle Making, Ad-Mad Show & Launch a Product, Smart Sim, Recycle Bin, Business Quiz, Welcome to Hell, Future CEO, and Barter King. Business schools from ARNI University, Himachal Pradesh; Doon Business School, Dehradun; Central University of Kashmir, Kashmir; The Business School, University of Jammu; Kathua Campus, Bhaderwah Campus, University of Jammu; SET Business School, Jammu; IIPS, Jammu; MBS, Jammu; MIET, Jammu won prizes in different events of the Fest. The overall winner of the Management Fest, Tatva’12, was Business School from Bhadarwah Campus, University of Jammu. This programme provided twin benefits where participants not only enjoyed but also learnt many management skills. P.S. Gowtham from Doon Business School, Dehradun said, “The events are well organized and the exposure to an innovative event like Recycle Bin has led to a new line of thinking”. Sourabh Khajuria from Business School, Kathua Campus, University of Jammu said, “Tatva is one of the aspects which make SMVDU different from other universities in the region”. Though the students of COM, SMVDU did not compete in the events yet they acknowledged the platform of ‘Tatva’ for showcasing their managerial competencies.

International Conference on Myth, Orality and Folklore Concludes

Three days International Conference on Myth, Orality and Folklore in World Literature (with Special Reference to Rabindranath Tagore) concluded at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University on 31 March, 2012 . Jenaab Masood Choudhary, Former Vice Chancellor Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University was Chief Guest on the occasion. In his address, Jenaab Choudhary congratulated the conference coordinator Dr. Vandhana Sharma for undertaking such a mammoth task and for taking an initiative for providing a platform for deliberations on theme which is of significant relevance. He particularly appreciated the performance of Bawa Jitto in English which has been an innovation of its kind in the folkore of Jammu and Kashmir.

Prof. Mohit K Ray, an eminent Tagore scholar and researcher delivered the valedictory address. In his address Prof. Ray mapped out the range, depth, variety and complexity of Tagore’s use of myth, orality and folklore with copious illustrations from the writings of Tagore. In the welcome address, the conference coordinator, Dr. Vandhana Sharma, Director of the School of Languages and Literature expressed her gratitude to all the participants and said that although conference is coming to a logical ending andbut it is an ending which is going to have many positive and productive results. The three day deliberations had been stimulating as they ranged from oral traditions and folklore to mythology to Gurudev Tagore.

Appropriately unlocked by the Keynote speaker Prof. Indranath Chaudhuri, former secretary Sahitya Akademi on the theme “ Myth, Orality ad Folkore in World Literature” the conference has total number seven plenary talks by distinguished scholars from different parts of the country and the world and 107 paper presentations. On day 1, Prof.Alan johnson from Idaho State Univ. U.S Set the ball rolling with his first plenary talk on The American heroes Passage to India: Geography, Frontier Myths and Planetary perspectives. Prof. Usha Choudhary from the Univ. Of Delhi delivered a talk on “ Deva, Devata, and Devakhyana: The concept of an archetype, archetypal and symbol and myth in the veda”. Prof. Tutun Mukherjee form the univ of Hyderabad made an interesting talk on “ Oral, Aural Image, Repakaging the Folk for new Audiences”. In addition to this we had 2 academic sessions on the use of myth by folklore by Rabindranath Tagore and Girish Karnad .

On day 2, Prof. Jay Hasford C Vest, fro Univ. Of North Carolina, Pembroke delivered his pleanary talk on “ When Napi Dances day: Myth, Orality and process in Pikuni Trickester Narratives” It was followed by another insightful talk by prof. Jasbor jain, from the the University of rajasthan on The listener in the story, Orality, Tradition and Modernity” In addition to this were six academic session on Regional Folkore and Oral traditions,, African Literature, Indian English writers.

On day 3, two plenary talks by prof. Mahua Mukjerjee from the Kolkatta on dance and Rabindranath tagore and another by Dr. Neeru Tandon on Entextualising and Re-contextualsing the Oral Tradition , Myth, and Folkore in Tagore’s dramatic world were delivered. The chairperson of the valedictory function Dr. Vijay Sharma gave his expert comments at the end. The participant feed back had been encouraging and positive.

Faced with a huge deficit of almost 4.0 lakh skilled manpower and trained managers in logistics industry the T2P consultants a division of DTDC along with the Charted Institute of Logistics and Transport(CILT) organized a National Level logistics Talent Hunt., an event for the Logistic Industry. The Talent Hunt was supported by organizations like First Flight, Mahindra Logistics, Blue Star Aviation, Aramex and many others.

The objective of the contest was to provide a platform for Management Students to interact with top executives and recruiters from the industry and for providing an exposure and opportunity to students to present their fresh ideas and display their potential to the industry. This event also presented an opportunity for Universities to present their product (students) and promote their presence and brand to potential recruiters.

The following two teams were nominated from SMVDU: SMVDU Five - : Tarun Sharma (Team Leader); Akhil Verma; Sahil Bhagotra; Sahil Sharma; Sudhir Manhas with Topic_Logistics Challenges of E-Commerce & Brighter India- Team Members: Puneet Gupta (Team Leader).Ashish Dharmat, Hansika Bhat,Puneet Kour Bali, Shevetaank Sharma with Topic- Public Distribution System –Logistics Solution

The two teams were mentored by Dr.Sunil Giri for preparation of their white papers and presentations and were facilitated by Mr.B K Bhatia, T&P Officer. Each team was expected to present a white paper followed by a presentation on their topic. Over 150 institutions from across the country filled their nominations out of which 60 were allotted topics. Out of the 60 teams only 28 were called for presentation and 05 teams were selected for the awards in the various categories.

Based upon the presentation and queries the SMVDU Five team won the first prize in the category of Logistics Challenges of E-Commerce and the team Brighter India stood the runner up in the category of Public Distribution System –Logistics Solution. The winning team was awarded Trophies & certificates besides a Cash award of Rs 25000 and Placement assistance for the winning team members. Vice-Chancellor Prof. R N K Bamezai felicitated the Team and expressed satisfaction on the efforts made by faculty members to inculcate industry relevant concepts among students. Winning this program will help the university in establishing its MBA program specifically the Supply Chain Specialization, as specialization in SCM is given in only few institutions in India and worldwide.

RESURGENCE 2012 Cultural & Sports Festival Begins

The Annual Youth Festival Of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, Resurgence 2012 has begun with a great enthusiasm on 5th April,2012. The gala event was inaugurated by Prof. M.L. Garg, Dean, College Of Engineering. The opening ceremony witnessed a Gaudiya Dance by Prof. Mahua Mukherjee and her team from Rabindra Bharti University, Kolkata. It was followed by a Punjabi folk dance by SMVDU Bhangra Club. The Festival will have various cultural and sports events from 6th April – 8th April,2012. The cultural events include various performances of music, dance, theatre, literary and fine arts genre . To increase the participation of students in these events, the student community is grouped into 5 houses called Aakash,Agni,Jal,Prithvi and Vayu. The teams of these houses are competing with one another and the winner will be given chance to participate in the Inter- university events to be organized on 8th April,2012. Various universities /institutions are invited to participate in the cultural events. Jammu University, SKUAST, MBSCET and BGSBU have confirmed their participation.

Katra, 31 March. Three days International Conference on Myth, Orality and Folklore in World Literature (with Special Reference to Rabindranath Tagore) concluded at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University on 31 March, 2012 . Jenaab Masood Choudhary, Former Vice Chancellor Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University was chief Guest on the occasion. In his address, Jenaab Choudhary congratulated the conference coordinator Dr. Vandhana Sharma for undertaking such a mammoth task and for taking an initiative for providing a platform for deliberations on theme which is of significant relevance. He particularly appreciated the performance of Bawa Jitto in English which has been an innovation of its kind in the folkore of Jammu and Kashmir.

Prof. Mohit K Ray, an eminent Tagore scholar and researcher delivered the valedictory address. In his address Prof. Ray mapped out the range, depth, variety and complexity of Tagore’s use of myth, orality and folklore with copious illustrations from the writings of Tagore.

In the welcome address, the conference coordinator, Dr. Vandhana Sharma, Director of the School of Languages and Literature expressed her gratitude to all the participants and said that although conference is coming to a logical ending andbut it is an ending which is going to have many positive and productive results. The three day deliberations had been stimulating as they ranged from oral traditions and folklore to mythology to Gurudev Tagore.

Appropriately unlocked by the Keynote speaker Prof. Indranath Chaudhuri, former secretary Sahitya Akademi on the theme “ Myth, Orality ad Folkore in World Literature” the conference has total number seven plenary talks by distinguished scholars from different parts of the country and the world and 107 paper presentations.

On day 1, Prof.Alan johnson from Idaho State Univ. U.S Set the ball rolling with his first plenary talk on The American heroes Passage to India: Geography, Frontier Myths and Planetary perspectives. Prof. Usha Choudhary from the Univ. Of Delhi delivered a talk on “ Deva, Devata, and Devakhyana: The concept of an archetype, archetypal and symbol and myth in the veda”. Prof. Tutun Mukherjee form the univ of Hyderabad made an interesting talk on “ Oral, Aural Image, Repakaging the Folk for new Audiences”. In addition to this we had 2 academic sessions on the use of myth by folklore by Rabindranath Tagore and Girish Karnad .

On day 2, Prof. Jay Hasford C Vest, fro Univ. Of North Carolina, Pembroke delivered his pleanary talk on “ When Napi Dances day: Myth, Orality and process in Pikuni Trickester Narratives” It was followed by another insightful talk by prof. Jasbor jain, from the the University of rajasthan on The listener in the story, Orality, Tradition and Modernity” In addition to this we had six academic session ons Regional Folkore and Oral traditions,, African Literature, Indian English writers.

On day 3, we had two plenary talks by prof. Mahua Mukjerjee from the Kolkatta on dance and Rabindranath tagore and the another by Dr. Neeru Tandon on Entextualising and Re-contextualsing the Oral Tradition , Myth, and Folkore in Tagore’s dramatic world. The cairperson of the veladictory Dr. Vijay Sharma gave his expert comments at the end. The participant feed back had been encouraging and positive.

Katra, 29 March. Three days International Conference on Myth, Orality and Folklore in World Literature (with Special Reference to Rabindranath Tagore) was inaugurated at Matrika Auditorium of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University on 29 March, 2012 . Organised by the School of Languages and Literature of the university, the conference is partially funded by Ministry of Culture under Tagore Commemoration Scheme, University Grants Commission and Indian Council of Philosophical Research. Padmashree Prof. R.N. K Bamezai was chief Guest on the occasion. In his inaugural address, Prof. Bamezai dwelt upon the relevance of revisiting the past in order to reshape the future. He further stated that Oral, Tradition has been enriched in the present world by electronic revolution.

Prof. Indranath Chaudhari, former secretary Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi delivered the keynote address. In his address prof. Choudhuri said that “True criticism is an act of worship, puja. The true critic is a worshipping priest, who merely gives expression to his own mingled wonder and adoration or that of public at large.” This keynote is an act of worship, puja of the theme of the conference. Prof. Choudhuri dwelt at the length and breadth of the theme encompassing folk tradition, mythology with special reference to Tagore.Unlocked by the keynote address by an erudite scholar, eminent scholars from different parts of the country and abroad will deliberate on various aspects of issues relevant to the study of Myth, Orality and Folklore in the works of the writers of the world in all their diversity and complexity.

In the welcome address, the conference coordinator, Dr. Vandhana Sharma, Director of the School of Languages and Literature highlighted the genesis of the conference which aims at juxtaposing Gurudev Tagore with other writers of the world for a more deeper understanding of the writer. Dr. Sharma said that conference also aims at deliberating on the study folklore which helps us to form and express identity in the midst of an always complex, sometimes confusing social context, in which our sense of who we are is frequently questioned and challenged. She underlined the major deliberations in the conference will be on the works of writers from all over the world with a great deal of focus on the Indian iconic writer Rabindranath Tagore, author of the celebrated Lok Sahitya and numerous masterpieces of valuable community literature, music and art.

A galaxy of scholars from different parts of the country and abroad are participating in the conference. Prominent amonst them are Prof. Alan Johnson from Idaho State University , U.S. A, Prof. Jay Hansford Vest from University of North Carolina Pembroke, Prof. Jasbir Jain, University of Rajasthan, Prof. Tutun Mukherjee Head, Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad , Prof. Usha Chaudhari University of Delhi, Prof. Mahua Mukherjee from Kolkatta.

Other special features of the First day were a spectacular performance, Astanyika by Prof. Mahua Mukherjee. Prof. Mukherjee is a professor of dance at Rabindra Bharti University, Kolkatta and her performance is based on the use of myth in the songs of Rabindranath Tagore. In addition to this the students of the university performed the English adaptation of the famous Dogri play Bawa Jitto written by Padmashree Prof. Ramnath Shastri and translated into English by Dr. Vandhana Sharma, Director of the host school and coordinator of the conference. The play is directed by Mr. Neeraj of Natrang. Students from different Schools of the university enacted in the play. Dr. Neeru Sharma delivered the vote of thanks.

Katra: School of Innovation and Community Development, SMVD University organized a two week National Faculty Development Programme on Entrepreneurship. The programme was held in collaboration with Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) of India and College of Management, SMVDU. The programme was inaugurated by Prof. R. N. K. Bamezai, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, SMVD University on 12th March, 2012. In his innagural address he stressed on the need for such programmes and asked all the participants to utilize the two weeks to in such a manner that they are able to organize more programmes on Entrepreneurship at their respective institutional level for the students and faculty. He said that Entrepreneurship should not be taken only in the context of producing successful business but we should be able to inculcate the Entrepreneurial values and behavior among the student community. The inaugural session was also graced by Prof. V. Verma, Dean College of Sciences, Prof. D. Mukhopadhyay, Dean College of Management, Shri Raman Gujral, Senior faculty, and head, Central Regional office of EDI at Bhopal and Dr. S. K. Wanchoo, Director I/c SICD.

This was first such programme organized by EDI, Ahemadabad in the state. A total of 20 participants from nine different states of the country took part in the FDP. The Programme was designed to train and develop professionals in entrepreneurship development so that they can act as resource persons in guiding and motivating young S&T persons essentially students to take up entrepreneurship as a career. FDPs provided inputs on process and practice of entrepreneurship development, communication and inter-personal skills, creativity, problem solving, achievement motivation training, and inputs on resource and knowledge industries. The training methodology included case studies, group discussion, games and simulation exercise and classroom lectures. The resource persons for the programme included Prof. B. B. Siddiqui, Distinguished Faculty, EDI, Ahemadabad, Shri Raman Gujral, Senior faculty, EDI. In addition to these two faculty members lectures were also delivered by a number of special invitees form academia and industry.

A special session on Role of Achievement Motivation in Self Development was conducted by Prof. B. B. Siddiqui, Distinguished Faculty, EDI, Ahemadabad for the faculty and staff members of the University which was attended by over 80 participants.